A Waking Dream
by Wolfgal63
Summary: Gotham is undergoing a crime spree that may signal the beginning of the end of Batman. Meanwhile Wonder Woman is about to undergo a test of faith. BMWW This story is on hiatus. New chapters are tentatively planned to start coming out again around Mid May.
1. Chapter 1

Five in the morning. Eleven muggers, six assaults, three attempted thefts, and one foiled plot by Two Face to rob the U.S. Mint still needed to be typed into reports. The legendary terror of Gotham's criminal underworld sat back in his chair, and sighed as he ran his fingers through his sweat soaked black hair. He reminded himself that the reports may be essential for future investigations, or perhaps current cold cases. None that he could tell right now, but a good majority of the time the smallest details were the most crucial to solving crimes. It could be the one droplet of blood from the criminal, the quick glance of a frightened perp towards the hidden illegal goods, or the certain wording of some elaborate clue left by a deranged psychopath. What was the saying? Ah, yes, the devil was in the details. He shook his head trying to concentrate as the glare of the computer monitor seared his bloodshot eyes. Taking a sip from the cold coffee, he closed his eyelids for a moment as he gathered what energy he had left after two weeks of Gotham's current crime spree.

There had to be some sort of connection. Crime usually did not increase so rapidly from a dead stop to the overwhelming quantity of the past fourteen days without some sort of cause. The criminals of Gotham, at their core a suspicious and cowardly lot, had either become stealthier over the years or psychotic wannabe despots. Whenever lower level crime began to spike that meant only one of two things. They either had begun to lose their fear of him or they knew something that he did not. If the first, then he would have to come down harder on the entire criminal world to show them just who owned Gotham. If it was the second... He felt his mouth harden into a scowl. It could be any number of things ranging from a new weapon hitting the streets or a new crime lord rising to power. However, such events would cause an increase in violence in specific areas or types, not an increase on such a general scale. What were they up to?

Batman opened his eyes again to glare at the computer screen, knowing that an answer to such a question would not be found sitting in the Cave. His scowl deepened. As much as he hated the idea, Matches Malone would have to hit the streets tonight. Hopefully he had terrified the rest of the criminals with his brutality the last two nights that the rest of the so called "Bat Clan" could handle Gotham for a couple hours every night while he searched for information. It would do no good continuing to treat the symptoms when the cancer continued to kill the host. He sighed. This theoretical thinking was not helping him get much needed sleep.

Batman leaned forward and began typing again, trying to focus all of his attention on the monotonous reports. Despite his best efforts a small part of his brain was fixated on the uncomfortable sensation of Kevlar sticking to his skin. Sweat left over after hours of fighting two bit hoodlums did not help his comfort level but his own protocol dictated that he wear the suit while in the cave in case of an intruder alert. There had been too many close calls when an unauthorized person had infiltrated the cave in search of the Batman. Additionally, by his own calculations, things progressed much faster if he kept the Bat suit on and only took the shower after his reports. So here he was still wearing the sweat drenched uniform, sans cowl, in an effort to speed up the process of getting to bed.

Batman shook his head trying to get more of his attention on the reports before his mind began to calculate the probability of getting any sleep today. It seemed like his mind always began to run on several tangents when he was tired. A high pitched beeping sound came from his computer rousing him from his mental run around. The Justice League. He took another gulp of the cold sludge pretending to be coffee as the probability of sleep reached zero. Batman accepted the hail over his communicator and began to summarize the reports he still needed to complete.

"Watchtower to batman," the low sultry voice of the Amazonian Princess said after the line connected. His fingers stumbled over themselves causing a line of gibberish to emerge on the computer screen. Her voice always sent that jolt of pleasure through his system and he had been unprepared for it in the state he was in at...5:30 in the morning. Quickly deleting the mangled line, he finally found his voice enough to reply.

"Batman here." He winced. Compared to her almost melodic tones, his own voice sounded as if he was gargling gravel. He could just imagine her long supple legs stretched in front of her crossed at the ankles, probably her right leg over her left, as her head tilted slightly to the side. She would place one finger on her smooth cheek as if pondering some perplexing enigma that had appeared before her. Then her red lips would begin to spread into a smile that, if encouraged, could make her entire being seem to emanate an inner light that brought a strange tightness in his chest. And her eyes, her beautiful cerulean eyes, would look at him almost as if she could see past the lenses of his cowl into his very being-

"Are you alright?" she finally asked. He shook himself reminding himself that he was alone in the cave rather than engaging in a battle of self-control that occurred whenever he was in her presence. Despite his own reassurances that physical distance reduced her effect on him, the concern in her voice caused some of tension to ease from his body even as his typing speed increased.

"What do you need?"

She chuckled softly at his abrasive tone. Despite the thrill that ran down his spine, Batman frowned. She sounded just about as tired as he felt. Perhaps the crime spree was not just a local occurrence. That would make things a lot more complicated.

"There is an emergency founder meeting in thirty minutes." Batman finished up the abridged versions of his reports. He could fill in the rest of the information later. If this was another one of Kent's teamwork speeches-

"What level?"

"Possible Alpha." Just what he needed. A global catastrophe. He rose from the computer wincing as his muscles protested the movement, particularly the new bullet wound on his right bicep; a parting gift from one of Two Face's .22 semiautomatics. Next time he would be sure to return the favor. With interest.

"I'll be there in 73 seconds," Batman said, grabbing his cowl to slide it on. There was an unmistakable throat clear behind him. Batman's hand instinctively jerked towards his belt, but the reaction was quickly quashed as his higher cognitive skills recognized the voice of the older man who was now standing behind him.

"Might I recommend a shower and a change of suits before you go galloping off battle the forces of evil?" Alfred said.

"Make that 10 minutes," Batman said on the communicator.

"Roger that," she said. "Wonder Woman out."

Bruce turned to face the man who had faithfully aided him throughout his entire life. "Alfred, I told you not to do that anymore," he said, running a hand that may or may not have been shaking through his hair. That was closer than he would like to admit. The former British intelligence officer retained enough of his skills that he could occasionally sneak up on Bruce when the younger man's attention was diverted to other things. Although the skill was often an asset, there were times when Batman had almost accidently injured Alfred merely on instinct. Bruce doubted that the older man suspected how many times Batman had almost put him in the hospital merely because he enjoyed sneaking up on his charge.

"My apologies, sir. You were on the phone and I did not wish to interrupt," the butler said as he looked down at the silver tray in his hand. The smell of bacon and eggs nearly caused Bruce's stomach to growl but he suppressed the urge to eat. "I suppose you will once again be going without breakfast."

Bruce nodded as he walked past the plate with its wonderful smells towards the shower. "Could you call Dick and see if he will go on patrol with Tim tonight?"

"Do you expect to be gone that long with the Justice League?"

"Possibly," Bruce responded as he began to strip his uniform off.

"I suppose that I shall have to throw away another perfectly good meal," Alfred said as he began to go back up the stairs. "Oh and Master Bruce?" Bruce paused, holding the top half of the Batsuit, to look up at Alfred. "I took the liberty of rescheduling your morning appointments so that you can get some rest." Batman nodded absentmindedly. After the first few years of Bruce Wayne having to reschedule morning appointments after particularly grueling "hangovers," his various secretaries over the years had learned to schedule important meetings for the afternoon. However, the chance for sleep was slim even with the morning clear with the unfinished reports, the encroachment of Lex Corp. in Gotham, and the emergency Justice League meeting demanding his time. Though if he... Batman's mind continued to run through possible Alpha class scenarios as he stepped into the bathroom to shower.


	2. Chapter 2

Gaea. There were times when the sight still took Diana's breath away. The luscious greens of vegetation, the proud browns of towering mountains, and miles of arid yellow sand were just a prelude to the diversity upon the surface of the planet. Animals and plants, in as great a variety as the landscapes they inhabited, strove to survive and flourish together throughout millennia. Cradling the lands that harbored so many lives, the beautiful blues of Oceanus teamed with life and wonder of its own, all the while concealing mysteries within the depths of darkness. Encompassing it all, the swirling white clouds of Aer shielded the mortals who dwelled in life from Chaos and her brood.

There was so much to be thankful for; so much to marvel at and revel in. But Diana could not help but think of those who could not share the sight with her. Vanessa Kapatelis, with her beautiful soul and compassionate heart, was gods knew where under the influence of two of Wonder Woman's most dangerous enemies. Hades swallow Cheetah and Circe for their perversion of the sweet girl into the Silver Swan.

Then there was her mother, the former queen of the Amazons and the third Wonder Woman, who had given her life to save the world and her daughter from Imperiex's probe. Would Kal's mission claim another one of the brave souls of those she held dear-

"Wonder Woman?" Diana blinked as a breeze grazed her skin, returning her attention to the interior of the Monitor Womb. Vivacious colors of all shades and hues flickered before her eyes for an instant before they settled into the various images of people and places that resided on Earth. The plethora of newsfeeds and the several cameras that Bruce had installed at important locations all displayed a rare and beloved moment of peace for the Patriarch's World.

Off to the side, there was one pa1rticularly vibrant splash of scarlet that resembled a male figure standing next to her. Even without the symbol of Zeus upon his chest to proclaim his title, Wally West's could be identified from the way the outline of his form was blurring due to the speed of his fidgeting. "Hello, Wally," Diana said, pouring out her joy at seeing him into her voice.

His body solidified as some of the worry left his green eyes, though Wally's normally grinning mouth was pressed tight with concern. Placing his gloved hand on Diana's shoulder, he said, "You were kind of zoning out there. Is everything ok, Di?"

Diana looked back out the window at Gaia surrounded by the darkness, considering how much of her inner turmoil she should divulge to her rather amiable, if brash teammate. Wally would understand the concerns that she found plaguing her, but would he be willing to discuss them? "I was just thinking about the upcoming mission," she began slowly.

"What about it?" Wally asked, pulling his hand off her shoulder. "About how we are going to kick their butts?" There was a definite edge of apprehension in his tone that made his attempt at a joke fall flat. Diana opened her mouth to continue when she noticed his body posture. Wally was stiff and his green eyes almost seemed to be begging her not to go where she was heading.

Smiling up at him, Diana caught his hand with her own. Wally's face relaxed once she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Just about all the paperwork I have to do before the meeting," Diana said half truthfully as she withdrew her touch. She had been thinking about that when she first looked out the window. "How have you been, Wally?"

"I just got back after taking care of a brush fire in Australia," Wally said in a flippant tone. Diana could not help but smile at his obvious bid for praise. He would have made an excellent Roman. No doubt he and Cicero would have several stories to reminisce over.1

"And how did that go?" Wally launched into his tale of heroism as she leaned forward in her chair to check the monitors. There had been a call to Metropolis Fire Department about a cat stuck in a tree, a prank call had been made about some vagrants in an abandoned military bunker in Siberia, and there was a report of Wally's valiant rescue of an Australian wildlife outpost from the fire.

"That is quite the accomplishment," Diana said after he finished his story. He beamed at her commendation.

"So…" Wally said. It was almost as if he was afraid of silence. "What's with the personal library?"

"I am going over a Wayne Tech proposal for a renewable energy project," Diana explained. "They are asking for Themyscira's aid with some of the science that is a bit beyond their capabilities."

Wally snickered. "Let me see if I have this straight, the king of recluses is asking for help?"

Diana gave Wally's leg a light kick. "He is not that bad."

"Tell that to his bats." She chuckled, shaking her head. "So why is he asking the Amazons for help? Aren't you guys like thousands of years behind the times?"

Diana raised her eyebrow at his insult. "Ever since Themyscira has been rebuilt after Imperiex's invasion, we have welcomed many of the world's top scientists to come and share their ideals in a scholastic environment. So, Themyscira is potentially one of the most technologically advanced countries on the planet." Diana picked up the paper she had been reading before she had lost herself in thought. She added almost as an afterthought, "Besides I do not think that Bruce is involved in the project."

"Why am I not surprised?" Wally said with a huge grin which she answered with a small half smile. "So, how far along is this project?"

"From what I have seen of the proposal so far, it is highly theoretical at this point. However, if it works, we would potentially have the ability to be able to manage to make life better for millions of people."

"That is some heavy stuff," Wally said. That was an understatement.

Diana nodded. "It very well could be. And if Themyscira wants to aid in this project then I need to get through all of these by next week. Otherwise Bruce's people won't have enough time to have everything ready for the General Assembly."

"The General Assembly? As in the UN General Assembly?" Wally asked.

"That's right."

Wally whistled as he took in the pile of papers. "Di, should you really be doing Monitor Duty with this much on your plate?"

"It was a slow night," Diana said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "And nothing has required our intervention."

"For once." They shared a smile at the old joke. Then the monitor started beeping. Wally's grin grew. "We jinxed it," he said as he streaked to the monitor that was going off. "Robbery in Central City." Wally glanced back at her, excitement brightening his green eyes. "I'll handle this one." Diana grabbed his shoulder before he could speed away.

"What about Kal's meeting?"

"Please, Di. It's me. It'll take two minutes tops." Then Wally vanished and the only thing she was holding onto was air. It was an odd sensation. One moment she was holding onto his warm, living shoulder and the next he was gone. That was when she realized that his quick departure had sent a few of her papers flying. Diana laughed quietly at his vivacity. Wally was always running to one place or another. It was almost as if he never could settle down in one place for too long.

After picking up the papers, Diana took her seat at the computer station as she checked the screens once more. The cat had been successfully rescued by the Metropolis Fire Department, a protest rally in Kasnia against new taxes was underway, and…Batman had teleported to the Watchtower seven minutes ago. Diana glanced at the clock. 5:50 a.m. For a man who made it abundantly clear that he did things at his own time, Bruce was more often than not the first at any meeting. The man was a paradox wrapped in an enigma and shrouded in mystery.

Diana took up a report on the initial experiments of the project when she heard a slight intake of breath. "You do realize-" Diana's back straightened in shock as Bruce's husky voice reverberated through the silence, "- it is called Monitor Duty because you are supposed to be monitoring the screens."

Berating herself for allowing him to get so close without noticing, Diana glanced to the right where his voice had come from. Hera. The man was standing over at a secondary console within two yards of her and she had not sensed his presence. How did he do that?

Diana smiled at him and his theatrics. "Hello to you as well, Bruce." He grunted his disapproval at her use of his real name as he typed something on the keyboard. They both worked in silence for a few minutes while Diana finished reading the last document in the pile.

Finally finished with the first of several packets, Diana stood and stretched her arms above her head with a small sigh of pleasure as some of the tension left her tired muscles. Bruce cast a sidelong glance at her. But for some reason he did not look away immediately. Grinning at him, Diana brought her hands behind her neck while leaving her elbows above her head. "Did you need something?"

His mouth twitched as the white lenses remained steadfast upon her. Shrugging, Diana arched her back a little to stretch out a kink. Then she realized that Bruce was still staring at her. Diana could almost feel his gaze raking along her flesh, sending a strange burning sensation through her limbs. There was something about the intensity of his focus that caused her heart to begin to beat faster. It was almost as if he was preparing to spar with her. Bruce's jaw tightened as he rose to his full height.

"No," he grated out, turning to leave.

Before she knew what she was doing, Diana stepped forward and caught his arm. If before he seemed ready to attack her, now it appeared as if her very presence was repugnant to him. The thought almost caused her to release him but some part of her urged her to continue.

"Then why did you come here?" she whispered. Bruce's cape was draped around him, hiding most of his toned physique from her gaze, but she could feel his muscles tense beneath her hand. The man could have been made from marble from how still he was.

"I needed to check on something." His gaze was still fixed forward, refusing to acknowledge her.

"And what would that be?"

"Global crime statistics."

Diana's brow furrowed. He could have easily accessed that in the Batcave. He was not outright lying to her or she would sense it. But he was not telling the whole truth either. What was he hiding? "Why would you need those?"

"Case."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked, attempting to sound nonchalant despite the fact that she could smell the unique blend of coffee, polyester, and soap that clung to Bruce. Though that was an interesting combination it was the scent beneath it, the scent that was Bruce's alone, that caused her breathing to increase. What was wrong with her? He was silent for a while so that she could hear was the hum of the Watchtower and her own harsh breathing as she tried to ignore the scent that flooded her senses.

"Yes," Bruce whispered. Then he placed his gloved hand on hers and pressed down on her hand. Diana released her grip on his bicep with almost gratefully.

"You are going to be late," Diana said, taking a step back towards her chair and away from the enigma that his scent caused.

"Aren't you coming to the meeting?"

"My replacement has not shown up yet," Diana said, gesturing to the station when he cast a glance at her. The white slits of the cowl narrowed as he reached up to activate his communicator.

"Batman to Green Arrow." Bruce paused for a moment as he waited for confirmation of a connection then said, "You have thirty seconds to get to the Monitor Womb."

Diana grinned as an expletive on the other end was shouted loud enough that Bruce winced. "Was that really necessary?" One of Bruce's shoulders lifted in a shrug. Then he turned and began to stride towards the door.

"Are you just going to stand there?" That was a challenge if she ever heard one. Now that was something she could deal with.

He was almost at the door when she willed her body to defy the artificial gravity. Diana's grin spread at the exhilaration that flooded her system as her feet left the ground. Leaning her body forward so that she was parallel to the ground, Diana willed herself forward. Diana passed Bruce just as he stepped into the hall. Glancing back, she laughed at the widened lenses of Bruce's cowl as his cape swirled around him from her passing.

"I'll see you at the meeting," Diana said, speeding ahead.

This is comment is based on the fact that after Cicero saved the Rome from a rebellion instigated by Kataline in 63 B.C. he would try to include the event in his speeches with the words "when I saved the state in 63 B.C." Apparently, boasting was not uncommon as Romans were supposed to boast of their exploits. So this is pretty much a joke that only historians would find funny.

Author's note about how great you guys are:

Thank you for the awesome reviews. Your support really is wonderful and I will try my best to live up to your expectations. Your wonderful reviews have actually led me to start to up the ante of the story from what I originally had planned. Please continue to give feedback as I want you guys to be excited about this series as I am.

For anyone interested in the continuation of this series, I am going to try to crank out one chapter each week. Though I may delay a chapter if I feel that it needs serious tweaking (for example, this chapter went through at least five different versions until I was satisfied with it (I also had issues with intermittent internet connection in case you were wondering)). So, thanks again for reading and see you next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Diana's grin nearly brought his cerebral functions to a complete stop as she glanced back at him. Her joy for flying, her exhilaration for a contest, and simple elation of living, were all displayed on her open face. She was never any good at hiding her emotions. It was one of the things he…admired about her. Even her embarrassment was plain for any to see. Batman gave himself a mental shake to prevent his mind from recalling the endearing way the blush had spread across the smooth splendor of her cheeks. If she thought she was going to reach the Hall of Justice before him she was sadly mistaken.

Diana took one last glance back at him before she turned to the left at the intersection to head towards the periphery route. It was thirty meters longer than cutting through the more populated route, but she would be able to maintain her flight. That would give her the advantage of speed. It still would not be enough. He turned to the right to cut through the populated areas of the Watchtower in order to give himself a forty two second lead on her.

The black and white tiles flew beneath his open pace as Bruce briefly entertained the thought of locking down the portion of the Watchtower Diana was in so as to gain a further thirteen second advantage. Disadvantages: it could endanger other Leaguers if they needed to get somewhere quickly, he would have to repair that section of the Watchtower, Diana would say that he cheated. Best to stick with the route he knew would lead to success.

He was three meters away from the elevators when the sound of someone running resonated down the hallway. Two seconds later a green figure rounded the corner of an intersecting hallway at a breakneck pace.

"Batman?" a disheveled Green Arrow asked, skidding to a halt between Batman and the elevators. Oliver's blonde hair was ruffled into clumps, his jerkin was only half on, his signature goatee was mussed, and there was the faint trace of a deep red lipstick on his jaw. The deep shade of red could only be Black Canary's. Which meant they had been…Dinah was going to kill him. Or at the very least make him deaf. Great.

"Arrow," Batman said, striding past him to press the up button. The left elevator was heading up but it was four floors down.

"What is this about me having Monitor Duty? I thought-"

"Wonder Woman is needed in a meeting. You are on call. So, you were called in to replace her. Forty seconds ago," Batman said brusquely, turning to give him a quick glare.

Oliver did not seem to get the hint. "Yeah, but you see Dinah and I-"

"Do you I look like I care?" he growled. The other man grimaced as he took a step backwards.

"No."

"I did not think so." The elevator opened and Batman strode into it, turning around just in time to see the other man scowling at his pointy green shoes before the door closed. Batman pushed the button for the Hall of Justice and rattled out his passcode. The elevator began its slow ascent. He forced his mind to review the information he had received from the Monitor Womb in order to prevent himself from hotwiring the elevator to make it go faster.

Gotham's crime statistics had gradually increased over the past year with an increase of 16.4% in the past two weeks. Meanwhile global crime had decreased 3% over the past year. Most people would say that it was due to the Justice League and not worth any concern. He was not most people.

Over the years of the League's active service there had been a gradual increase, rather than a decrease, of crime. This was most often attributed by criminologists to egomaniacs like Vandal Savage or Luthor who attempted to best the League in various fights to the death. There was also the fact that vigilantism was technically an illegal endeavor.

There were too many variables that could affect the numbers. Criminals were getting smarter, less police forces were reporting vigilantism, there were always the felonies that the police did not know about… the list went on and on. Even if the decrease in global crime was tied to something it would be nearly impossible to prove. That meant that the crime spree in Gotham was probably just a local occurrence. Batman hated probability when it came to his city.

The elevator finally stopped at the Hall of Justice and Batman stepped out into the hallway. The door to the sanctuary was already open and through it he heard her voice greeting the occupants of the room. He had lost by seven seconds. He made a mental note to check the elevator speeds to see if they needed maintenance.

Batman walked up to the still open door just as the elevator chimed behind him, announcing another founder's arrival. Superman was deep in conversation with Martian Manhunter near the head of the table as the former pulled up a holographic image of a foreign satellite that was spherical, much like a planet. Warworld. The artificial planet was essentially a gladiatorial arena where enslaved aliens were forced to fight to the death for the viewing pleasure of the tyrannical scum Mongul.

"Hello, Batman," Diana said, breaking through his line of thought. Batman crossed the room to where Diana was sitting in her chair with her arms crossed across her abdomen with a very proud smirk on her face. The open gait and heavy footfall of the fifth founder about to enter the room was a clear indicator that it was Hal Jordan. Batman grunted his greeting as he slid into his own chair next to her. "Glad that you were able to make it."

Before he could respond to her obvious gloating, Hal Jordan chimed in from the doorway, "Don't I get a hello?"

Diana grinned at Green Lantern. Hal's hair was as bad as Ratcatcher's rats' nest. "Hello, Hal. It is good to see you." The other man winked at her as he practically threw himself into his seat with a sigh.

"It's always great to see you, Diana. Especially in the morning." Wonder Woman's head tilted to the side as a streak of red entered the room with a gust of wind to solidify into the Flash.

"Why would time of day-" she began.

"Shouldn't you be saving that kind of flirting for Carol?" Wally said, leaning against the chair with his signature lightning bolt on the back.

"Who do you think kept me up all night?"

"Bruce?" Diana asked, leaning in closer towards him conspiratorially.

"Hmmm," Batman said as he tried to ignore the aroma of vanilla and cinnamon that clung to her.

"Why would the time of day affect how happy a person would be to see someone else?"

This was one of the many times he was glad that the cowl covered the upper half of his face. "Ask Clark." The Kryptonian could use some color.

Anyone want coffee?" Flash asked as he pointed to the door.

"I could go of a cup of jo," Green Lantern said, perking up in his chair.

"I would love some, Wally. Thank you for offering," Diana said, flashing Flash a smile. The Scarlet Speedster's cheeks almost matched his uniform. Batman tried not to roll his eyes at the school boy crush West had on the Amazonian Ambassador.

Superman held up his "World's Greatest Hero" cup, courtesy of Mrs. Lois Lane-Kent, to show that he already had a beverage while Martian Manhunter shook his head. Flash was about to leave when Batman said, "I'll have a triple."

Suddenly, the only sound in the room was the hum of the artificial life support as everyone in the room halted.

"_You_ want a drink?" Wally asked. The way that he seemed surprised about that immediately put Batman on edge.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Wally said, holding up his hands. "One triple coming right up." Then Flash was gone and Wonder Woman's elbow was in Batman's side. He grunted in pain at the quick jab and glared at her. A glare that she readily returned.

"Here is your iced mocha, Diana," Wally said, his red arm coming between the two.

"Thank you, Wally," she said, not breaking eye contact with Batman.

"And your triple."

He grunted his thanks which made Wonder Woman's eyebrows arch upwards in a slightly threatening manner. Batman remained silent, almost defending his antisocial response. Finally, she sighed as she glanced up at Wally. "Bruce is also thankful," she said with a particularly beautiful smile. "He's just sulking because he lost the race." Batman snorted to show what he thought of her theory as he reached for his coffee, which earned him a very solid kick to his right shin.

His hand jerked at the sharp pain, nearly spilling the beverage. When he shot a glare at her though, Diana was smiling so sweetly at him that the now familiar tightening in his chest came back. Damn gifts of Aphrodite. Batman turned his attention back to his coffee in front of him, pointedly ignoring the woman sitting next to him. Wally finally finished his coffee runs and settled into his seat.

"Now, that we are all here I am sure you are all wondering why I called you here," Superman said, placing his hands on the table.

"Wait. Where's Arthur?" Green Lantern asked, gesturing to the seventh empty chair.

"Aquaman assures me that he is fairly busy with business in Atlantis," Superman replied. If that was all it took than perhaps Batman no longer needed to attend Alpha level meetings either.

"At four o'clock eastern time we received a distress signal from the Tamaranians. From the reports that we received, they are under attack from Warworld," Superman said. He gestured to the satellite. "As we all know, Warworld is ruled by Mongul. He gathers people from various planets in order to host gladiatorial fights."

"Unfortunately, most of his contestants are involuntary subjects to his whim," Green Lantern interjected. Superman nodded tersely as his mouth thinned. Clark was probably remembering the time when he had been forced to fight in the arena.

"But the Tamaranians are mostly a peaceful people. Why would he want them for his fights?" Wonder Woman asked. Batman glanced over at her in surprise. She already knew of the fighting techniques Tamaranians firsthand from sparring with their princess Koriand'r, aka Starfire. Why would she need to ask such a question?

Superman's rigid stance softened a little as he turned to look at Wonder Woman. It was a diversion. For Kent. "As is evident by the Teen Titans own Starfire, the Tamaranians can be formidable foes when instigated," Superman said. "Starfire requested that we go with the Titans in order save her people from enslavement. So far one hundred forty six Tamaranians have been reported missing."

"Who all would be going?" Flash asked. Of course they bypassed the most important questions. How far away are the Tamaranians, how long would the mission take, did they have the resources for such an endeavor, what was the status of the remaining Tamaranians, what were Mongul's defenses… Luckily, Batman had already checked the statistics while he had been in the Monitor Womb. A simple deep space mission to retrieve a handful of enslaved Tamarianians should only require-

"Based on the information that we have so far," Martian Manhunter said, "It would be best if Superman, Wonder Woman, myself, Hal, and Reiner went on the mission." What?

"When would we leave?" Green Lantern asked. They needed four founders, a Green Lantern, and the Teen Titans all to rescue, at most, two hundred Tamaranians?

"Preferably within the next six hours. You know how time is of the essence in these kinds of missions. Will that suffice for everyone?" Clark said. There was a slight pained expression on Superman's face. He was lying. The selected members nodded beginning to rise to their feet.

"Alright it is settled," Wonder Woman said, placing her hands on the table to stand up.

"No." Everyone froze to stare at him. Again. Batman's hands lowered to the table top as he regarded the shock on Clark's face.

"Look we all know that you aren't a fan of-" Superman began.

"You aren't planning just to rescue the Tamaranians are you?" Batman asked. Clark flinched, his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar.

"What Mongul is doing is wrong. We cannot allow for him to enslave people to fight just for his own pleasure." Batman did not care how many people Clark rescued. The more the better. However, there was something the Kryptonian had yet to clarify.

"Are you doing this because it is the right thing to do or because Mongul forced you to fight for him?"

Anger hardened the Kryptonian's features. "You of all people should know the answer to that." The pained expression was not there. Good. The League's leader could not afford to let his personal vendetta cause complications to the mission. Now, to his second point.

"We can't have all of our heavy hitters off world. Someone needs to stay behind."

"Why?" Flash asked. "We have managed to handle Earth before without them." Against his advice. On several occasions. He tried not to let his irritation show.

"Only because there have not been any major catastrophes while they were gone."

"Well, I am sure that you, Wally, and Arthur can handle the situation," Hal said, turning towards the door.

"In case you have not noticed," Batman said, "Aquaman has been dealing with issues in Atlantis. So Flash will be on his own."

"Woah, time out," Wally said, making a capital T with his hands. "Crazy Bats says what now?"

Batman shot him a glare that sufficiently shut him up. "What about you, Batman?" Superman asked the obvious question; which deserved the obvious reply.

"Gotham-"

"Needs you," Diana finished with a weary smile. He would have snapped at her if that amusement was not in her eyes.

"Come one, Batman. Isn't there anyway that you can crawl out of your cave and help out more around here?" Hal asked with a clearly exasperated tone. They thought that he was being unaccommodating. They had the nerve- Batman's hands tightened into fists on the table as his jaw clenched shut against the urge to throw Green Lantern out the nearest window.

"No," he gritted out.

"Come on, Bats. I am fast, but there is no way that I can run the entire League on my own," Flash continued. "The rest of us manage to watch our cities and still help out-"

"Enough." Rising to his feet, Batman was about to give them a few choice words when a hand rested gently on his shoulder. He glanced down to see Diana gazing up at him with her cerulean eyes.

"I will stay," she whispered. Her voice was soft and low as her fingers gently squeezed his shoulder.

He gave her one curt nod before he extracted his arm from her grasp. No one was looking at him. Apparently the floor was more interesting than Batman losing his temper. Again. Batman strode towards the exit, pretending not to notice the rest of the founders staring after him. "So, that went well-" Wally said. Always trying to lighten the mood. The doors slid shut behind him.

A/N: So I might do these as a kind of behind the scenes thing so you guys can get some sneak peeks at upcoming chapters, responses to your reviews, and possibly some snippets of my weird sense of humor.

Chapter 4: Matches Malone hits the seedier East End in order to see if he can scrounge up some intel about Gotham's criminal underbelly. Figured you guys deserved some action after all the talking and fluffiness.

Thanks for reviews and views. If you see something that you would like improved in my writing style please let me know. I am editing these myself and often times, after the tenth time reading and rewriting these, I tend to miss stuff. Also, let me know if the meeting got a little confusing. That is the first time I have had so many people participating in a conversation so that is definitely something I have to work on.

Last off here are some call outs:

ButterflyV: Sorry to hear about the brushfire near your town. I hope everyone is ok. This past summer there were some fires near my home town because of droughts so I know a little about scary that can get.

Kari-Kateora: I am glad that you like the story so far. The updates are pretty much only 3-5 pages on Word, so they are not that long literally speaking. I have outlined a basic summary of what I want to do with the chapters and some of them should get longer though others look like they could end up really short.

5starbarbie: I am glad that you enjoyed the wait for a kiss. I get frustrated whenever people write romance as jumping each other's bones as soon as they are alone together. With someone as closed off emotionally as Bruce is, I figure it would take some serious stuff to break down those walls. So prepare your wrecking crews!


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